One of the best GD shows I've been to. Reminded me of RPI.

Saturday morning, 8AM. Bill Whitbeck and his date Meredith picked me up and we began partying. Drove from Norfolk,Va., to "CW" (Colonial Williamsburg) in his tan Ford Pinto, and when we arrived about 9-ish the parking lot was already half-full of die-hard NY, NJ, PA, New England and fans from all over. It was one big pre-show party. My stick-man, Bill, had attended W&M, graduating in '76 and knew lots of folks there, many whom I'd met over the years. We hooked up with Steve Wilkerson, Jim Puckett, Tom Puckett (No relation to Jim, just good friends). We were drinking some "cold ones" and toking off of a bong, right there in what the students call "The Drunken Gardens" (Sunken Gardens, according to the College), when I happened to notice that amid the assembled multitude of tie-dyed Freaks (My People!) there were an awful lot of students and their parents really dressed up, like Sunday-Go-To-Meeting clothes, suits, ties, formal dresses, etc. Well, needless to say, the entire DeadHead community "Threw Down" all day long, and twelve hours later when the show started, I was about ready to call it a night. When the band hit the stage the crowd erupted into pandemonium. The band picked up on the energy of the legion of fans and Tore The Roof Off The Sucker, to coin a phrase. Somewhere on the internet is a photo of Bill, Jim, and Tom(Puckett), which shows them standing pre-show talking to Bill. Jim is the one in the beautiful "Skull and Roses" Levi jacket, the emblem he created himself, multi-talented guy that he is, a regular Renaissance Man himself. (I was standing next to Tom Puckett, to the left, but am sure I was cut out of the photo since I was wearing a brown t-shirt with Zappa's face screen printed on the back! (Heh, heh) Well, long story short, the parents HIGHLY OBJECTED to the fact that the campus (established 1692 by King William and Queen Mary), and thought to be a bastion of conservatism, was "littered" with a legion of Hippy Freaks. Hence, no more Grateful Dead shows at the Hall. What a shame, it was the best place to "Have a big party with a band playing." Next year they played the Hampton Coliseum, which was at first a letdown (to me) after the relative freedom of the hall. For cryin' out loud,at the Hall, security was the campus police! Hey Now! Paisley Tom reporting

poke around for that matrix...it's not as flat

Powerhouse 1/2 Step, LIG, spacey Playin and a rare Dew. Yes this does sound good especially for only one mic!
Merry XMAS Mike! - Dave McD

As I worked on this recording, what struck me was the amount of direct sound Mark got by going with a single mic that night. When it comes to audience recordings, good mono beats bad stereo ; ^ )